After ‘Fake It Flowers’, Beadbadoobee strikes again with her follow-up album, seeming to explore a softer, wistful side in comparison to her previous killer grunge debut album. ‘Beatopia’ was released on July 15th by the Dirty Hit signed artist.
Using guitar-laced bubble gum pop to create a hazy dream-like sound heavily influenced and reminiscent of artists from the late 2000s such as hit makers Nelly Furtado and the silky sounds of Corrine Bailey Rae. The title of her new record comes from the name of an imaginary world Bea fantasized about when she was seven and had just moved from the Philippines.
The first half of the album is heavily psychedelic inspired, starting with ‘Beatopia Cultsong’ – with warped repetitive lyrics setting an ambient tone to the experience, you can pick up the influence of the trippy sounds of The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s ‘I love you’. Whereas, ‘Sunny day’ pulses with the aura of self-care, seeming tio seek to deal with the concepts of mental health and its’ repercussions. Bea describes the songs as something she imagines you would trip to. This album is giving the fairy garden party you had when you were 8, but you’re on drugs (not hard drugs, just a microdose of mushrooms to take the edge off).
In the other half of the album, the lyrics are laced with nostalgic stories from her childhood and teen years, and the music reflects the niche, magical energy of growing up in the 2000s. This is essentially a perfect witch-core album, which many have been waiting for since the release of Bôa’s album Twilight, which reflects on how the power of childhood naivety e and how reflection on this time can be bittersweet and even often sad. It is an album describing intense feelings that you only feel for the first time in your teens, captured most succinctly in ‘Lovesong’ and ‘You’re here that’s the thing’ with the lyrics “You just won’t admit it that you’re smitten” transcending back to those heartfelt and emotionally assaulting years.
Another song worth noting is 10:38, a track that you’d play on full volume after your first meaningless relationship with a fuckboy or some guitar-playing, indie, Morrissey wannabe. The song encompasses the feeling of rejection and emptiness which you can feel in the cutting line ‘I didn’t think you’d fall in love, You’re just a warm body to hold, At night when I’m feelin’ all alone’. The heavy bass rift and upbeat sound reclaim that feeling and give it a powerful edge. 10:38 which are literal angel numbers, mean reflecting and letting your potential communicate the power that you have, and this song expresses that perfectly.
This album is about connecting to the inner child and healing traumas through a magical rose-colored summer lens. It explores the highs and lows of a coming-of-age era. Its’ Ethereal nostalgic guitar sound will have me listening to these tracks in winter, daydreaming about running away to do love spells in the woods with friends.
[Beth Grayburn (she/her)]
Image credit: https://rockcellarmagazine.com/beabadoobee-beatopia-new-album-listen-stream-indie/
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